Andy's Story (part 1)

Over the years, I have had friends have come and go. Technically, they don't 'go' anywhere, they are always there. They just are in the back of your mind, or on the tip of your tongue or a phone call away, especially when you remember that it was one of them that borrowed your lawnmower about 6 years ago and now you REALLY need it.

But as friends go, we can never have enough. Whether it's the one friend you call when you have locked yourself out of the house in while in your underwear getting the newspaper that was 'just out of reach' or it's the person you call just when you are feeling low, having locked yourself out of the house while in your underwear just as the Fourth of July parade comes down your block.

In my mind, one particular person stands out.

During my formative years of 14 to around 16, I didn't get along with my family too well. I was going through that adolescent phase that psychologists call 'being a total prick to everyone'.

In that time, my parents and I were at odds many many times. I couldn't talk to them and they didn't understand me. My brothers and I fought all the time. I was probably not a decent person. When I look back now, I didn't understand myself even. With the onset of puberty, hormones, high school, girl trouble and adulthood all rolled into one, I was a mess. There were a lot of arguments at home. A lot of confrontation. It just wasn't pleasant.

My parents had pinned their hopes on sending me to a Baptist Boys camp, with the desire that I would stay out of trouble. At least for a summer. For awhile I did, but there is only so much that even the Baptists can do when you believe your world is on fire and you can't put it out.

On one of the many trips that the Baptists sent me and 5 other miscreants on, we were introduced to a counselor named Richard Lannen. He seemed to be generally interested in our problems and he had some problems himself with his own son (actually his 'son' was a kid that was a few years older than any of us, but Rich had raised him almost by himself). Together we talked and worked out a lot of the problems that all of us had.

We all grew to trust him and we found that we were able to talk to him and he would listen, unlike how our parents weren't able to. Over that summer, the 5 of us all became close friends. We shared a lot of laughs and a lot of problems.

Rich's life was not without adversity. He had recovered from a number of heart attacks. He was a Vice President at a very large corporation and many times seemed to be under a lot of stress. But he always took the time to listen to what we said. If we had a hot date, he would loan us his car (even though we didn't even have a drivers license between us). If we had problems with a girl, he gave us advice. If we needed to borrow a couple of dollars, Rich was always there. As long as we were honest with him, he trusted us more than many of us had seen even in our own homes.

© 2003 True Life Story Contest